Forthcoming: The Alternative to Capitalism is Peer Production based Advanced Egaliterian P2P Communism

The Peer to Peer (P2P) production is an emerging mode of production which has also been called cyber communism or social production. This forthcoming article by Rigi, argues that this mode of production coincides, in its main features, with Marx’s description of advanced communism.

In the P2P production, producers produce collectively goods through voluntary participation in a de-centered network-based socially associated production system. The volunteers choose the tasks they perform; the amount of time they send on collective production; the place and time of their productive activity. In terms of distribution, every one in the world can use the products for free according to her own needs, regardless of her contribution to the production. This mode of production emerged first in the realm of digital production of knowledge-information. Now, there is also a growing movement, shaped recently, for P2P production of hardware. The reality of robots, particularly the 3 Dimensional Printers (3DP) will facilitate the dramatic expansion of the P2P production to material goods. Of paramount significance is the fact that this new mode of production is also a social movement. This article analysis the new mode of production and speculates on the ways in which the generalization of this mode of production to most branches of production may transform personhood, meaning, sociality and experiences of time and space.”

Jakob Rigi
Associate ProfessorPhD (1999) in Social Anthropology (SOAS),University of London. BSc (1993) University of Stockholm. Contact:Address: Nador 9, Room 407Phone Number: (36-1) 327 3000 / ext 2131 Email: rigij@ceu.hu

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